I didn't become a fan until Senior year of high school (2002)
My high school English teacher and her husband got me hooked. Before I was old enough to drive, she would pick me up and take me home. I first got to listen to Binaural in 2000 in her car. I remember hearing Nothing as it Seems. The part from 3:21 to about the 4 minute mark got me hooked, but I didn't buy an album until Riot Act. I did manage to snag the I am Mine cd single before Riot Act was released. Before I finally got Binaural, I used to think Nothing as it Seems was called Light Years. Last time Pearl Jam played in Alabama was April 9th 2003. My teacher went to the show, went home, took a nap, and came back to school to teach hours later.
Next time whether they play B-ham or Atlanta, we decided a couple of years ago that we would go together.
First heard them in 92' in high school, but really became a fan when my dad who was 45 at the time ( i was 16)took my friend and I to see them at the Ex in Toronto in 93', with Soundgarden and Uncle Neil. It was amazing, my dad almost got in a fight because some guy took his seat when he went to get us a drink. The guy wouldn't get up so my father picked him up and tossed him down a couple rows. I'll never forget it.
First heard them on the radio in 2001 while riding in the car. Asked my husband who played the song (It was Elderly Woman behind a counter in a Small Town) and he said Pearl Jam. I was 34 at the time and had spent years raising kids and not really listening to much more than Raffi and other kids music! So I went to our local library and checked out a 2000 boot. It was of a Philly show, since that's where I'm from. And I thought they sucked!!!! (Can you believe that! :oops: ) But, then I read somewhere online that Ed was a huge Who fan and that made me think twice because The Who was my first love! So back to the library I go and get the same boot. Can't understand many of the words, so I went online to check out the lyrics and am blown away!! I spent the next two years educating my small self in all things Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam was just what I needed at that point in my life. I felt like my own person again and not just someone's mom. Took my brother to see them in 2003, and it was the first live PJ show for both of us! Now, I am proud to say that both my daughter and son are PJ fans too. Have seen PJ with my daughter 3 times and will be taking my son for the first time to one of the Spectrum shows. I feel just as, if not more, excited to watch him have his first PJ experience as I feel to be going to the show myself! Hubby is not into concerts and he just smiles, shakes his head and enjoys watching me obsess!!!!!
well my first hearing pearl jam was back in the late 90's was a huge NBA fan and saw a montage of Shawn Kemp highlights to "Go" and ended up rewinding and playing the VHS till the tape came out.. :( Then 4 years ago saw the same video in clearance in local video ezy for $4 so grabbed it again and found out that the band was pearl jam. I then ended up reading an autobiography on dennis rodman who preached about how much he liked them so first thing after finishing the book, i went and bought rearviewmirror where S.O.L.A.T, Animal and Go got me hooked. Wasnt till the reissue of Ten where i found out about this site and convinced my mother to loan me her credit card after my 19th.....uptight parents haha
I had heard the hits like Alive, Evenflow, Daughter, Elderly Woman and Betterman since right about the time that they came out. I was only like 6-8 at at that time, and didn't realize what it was. And to be honest, I was too young to be a passionate music fan of any band at the time, so none of those songs did anything for me. But a couple of years later I bought Nirvana's Nevermind as my first CD and really got into all of the Seattle/grunge music: Soundgarden, AIC, STP, the Melvins, Screaming Trees, etc.
When I was about 11 or 12 I bought Ten, and Vs. was getting into the band. My parents were driving me to a basketball camp somewhere in the sticks of western Pennsylvania one summer. We had left from Pittsburgh and on the way out they dragged me into a Barnes and Noble. I couldn't have cared less about going in a bookstore at that time but amused myself in the music section. I was just looking through all the CD's, saw Vitalogy and decided to give it a try. I listened to that CD on my walkman for the entire week at basketball camp. I skipped a couple of practices because I was so into the album. I was hooked after that. I appreciated Ten and Vs. even more, and quickly snatched up any and all PJ I could find.
It's been the same ever since. Hearing music like the Band, the Four Tops, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, etc. (all the classics) growing up with my parents, I was conscious of good music from a young age, and I began following bands when I was about 8 or 9. But none of them ever stuck with me the way PJ has. When I was young I said Nirvana was my favorite band and always would be. Then a couple of months later it was Metallica, then Soundgarden, etc. Once I got hooked on PJ, however, it never changed. I have loved many other bands over the years, but PJ has been the constant. Even when I went through my 2 year Pink Floyd craze, writing a 50-page history thesis on the Floyd and concept albums, I still came back to PJ. There's just something there for me that no other band has had. Not to take away from the other great musicians over the years, but PJ has always had something extra for me.
It's interesting. The album that got me hooked, Vitalogy, might be the album I listen to the least these days. Not even because I don't find it interesting or amazing, but I always seem to forget it. Yield consumed a good 1-2 years for me when I discovered it. It's probably the album I listen to most. At the end of the day, they are band that rises above and beyond the rest. Whether it's a new release, a new found gem of a bootleg or a christmas (easter?) single, Pearl Jam always finds a way to get back to the front of my consciousness. After all these years they remain my favorite band, and I feel safe in predicting that they will continue to be for quite some time.
5/28/06 - Camden, NJ 5/30/06 - Washington, DC 6/22/08 - Washington, DC 10/31/09 - Philadelphia, PA 8/5/16 - Fenway Park Temple of the Dog - 11/5/2016 - Philadelphia, PA 7/1/2018 - Prague 7/3/2018 - Kraków 7/5/2018 - Berlin
Summer of 1992.. unbelievable time for music with Ten, Nevermind, and Blood Sugar Sex Magic out there.. I was a sophomore in high school..had just started driving.. I distinctly remeber cruising home from a party one night..changing the station and stumbling onto ALIVE.. I only caught the last 30 seconds or so, still my favorite McCready solo of all, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing.. I was in the middle of a serious Led Zeppelin phase but immidiately went out and bought Ten.. AMAZING album..to this day I can not pick out my favorite song, probably Oceans, but too hard to call.. Proceeded to jam the shit out Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy..Got my hands on the live Dissident CD's next and was never really the same after that.. But No Code is the album that hit me the deepest on a personal level.. Pretty much my favorite album, though that's tough to call too, and Present Tense may be my favorite song of all..but that's impossible to call.. My only regret is that I didn't get to see them live in the 90's.. Finally saw them in 2000..and 10 shows later I've got the Chicago shows and ACL to come..The new songs I've heard so far are once again blowing my mind..as I know Backspacer will.. the best is yet to come!!
Around the time of Riot Act.
I had bought Binural a few moths after it came out from a tiny shop with a really small collection. I wouldn't leave unless i bought something ( i never leave a record shop unless i buy something) so i picked it up.
I heard it a few times, i liked it but didn't give much attention and then i went to that shop again and found Riot Act. I played them together a few times...and it suddenly came to me...i really liked this band!
It was about 2004/2005 for me, I know that's pretty recent, but give me a break I'm only 20, plus you never hear anything about pearl jam in the UK media. i Knew the name and I had heard alive a couple of times and kinda dug it and then my girlfriends dad lent me this video tape with some frank zappa and pink floyd stuff on... which was awesome! It also had pearl jam unplugged (possibly the coolest vhs ever...right). Anyway I remember them just ripping into state of love and trust and eddie was so intense and the band was just tearing it apart... i was absolutely hooked. As i was about 15/16 at the time I wasn't exactly loaded but i remember going down to music zone (any UK residents will miss this... the number of class cds i bought from there for like £4 or £5). I was stood there for ages wondering whether to buy ten or get rearviewmirror the greatest hits. Eventually i decided on ten and just loved it... once just blew me away with that amazing guitar work, and of course alive, even flow, jeremy, black as well as release. That next year i found out they were gonna headline the Leeds Festival... which I was hyped about being a Leeds resident. So i purchased a weekend camping ticket and realised I'd have to buy some more pj albums... so went and bought vs. it took me a few listens to get it, but after I'd heard rearviewmirror, it hit such a chord with me... I loved it in a way that I had not loved music before, so intense, just awesome, all those other greats as well, go, animal, daughter, dissident, blood and i tought indifference was just haunting and beautiful (I think vs. is still my favourite), picked up vitalogy as well and again got really into it after a little while, the avacado had just come out as well, so i picked that up. Anyways fastforward to an august night, and pearl jam hit the stage at leeds festival, and eddie gives a little speech about looking after eachother (first festival since roskilde) and they just slam into 'go' it was one of the most exhilerating nights of my life... i knew i was a fan for life, I wanted nothing more than to leave leeds festival and head down and see them again at Reading. I just loved the way eddie came across, the energy they put in, and being a guitarist I was just blown away by mike, stone and eddie's guitar work... and live as well! I was slightly gutted that they skipped out rearviewmirror though! Later that year me and the girlfriend finished with eachother, we broke up whilst listening to the down side of rearviewmirror, which she had bought me as a gift. It was such a great soundtrack for this mutual breakup we went through. After this I went through a load of personal stuff, I systematically purchased the rest of the pj albums (yield, no code, binaural, riot act... in that order) and they were just there for me the whole time, everytime i felt down or alone or whatever. I was never more disappointed when i missed out on the wembley show in 2007. I had an A level exam that same day and one the day after. I even tried to go to bonaroo in '08, despite being a broke student... so now here I am just two weeks away from seeing my favourite band twice at manchester and london... nd tryin to scrape together some more funds to get the avacado tatooed on the inside of my wrist...bring it on! and il see you down front! long live pearl jam... can't wait for backspacer!
In 1993 my brother was obsessed with Pearl Jam and at the time I did not understand why! I remember rolling my eyes during the MTV Music awards ( :oops: ). Then for Christmas '93 he got V.S. He would not stop blaring it throughout the house and I was hooked within a matter of days. I kept requesting that he'd play Glorified G! He ended up giving me his Pearl Jam CDs and now he's doing the eye rolling at me.
I was in my mid 20’s when Ten was released. Being a teenager in the 80’s I really didn’t listen to much current music. Couldn’t enjoy hair metal and no internet back then to find those good under the radar bands. So I mostly listened to 60’s rock and didn’t give much thought to current music. One night I caught the video for Alive on TV and thought “WOW. This is what rock music should be”. Bought Ten loved it and then Vs when it was released. I am ashamed to admit that I kind of lost track of Pearl Jam for the next 10 or so years after those two albums. Life happened and stuff like that. I still liked them just didn't follow them. Then last year while following the Bonnaroo festival read lots of good stuff about the Pearl Jam performance. I bought the bootleg one thing led to another found other bootlegs (thanks to this forum) and bought all the albums. Now I am completely hooked. Look I am posting on a forum...a first for me! I thought maybe I am too old to attend a Pearl Jam concert but after seeing Eddie Vedder in Baltimore I have decided I am going when they play DC again.
Your story is similar to mine. Lost track after Vitalogy, loved Avocado and bought everything in between shortly after.
Boston II 94 Boston II 06 Mansfield I 08 Mansfield II 08 Seattle I 09 Seattle II 09
Hartford 10 Boston 10 Wrigley 13 Worcester I 13 Worcester II 13 Hartford 13
NYC I 16 NYC II 16 Fenway I 16 Fenway II 16 Fenway 1 18 Fenway II 18
E.V. Boston II 08 E.V. Albany II 09 E.V. Providence 11, E.V. Boston 11
Troubled Souls Unite
Great thread, I love reading the stories. For me, it was the summer of ’92 I am guessing. I was a member of two music clubs, I think it was Columbia House and BMG. You remember, buy 12 cds for a penny, and only have to buy 5 more in the next 2 years etc. I had quite a cd and tape collection, because I had bought all my music that way for almost 10 years. (I bought my first cdplayer with my lawn money in 1985 I think it was for $350+, but I digress…) Then I heard Jeremy on the radio. I HAD to have that, and right now. I remember grabbing one of my roommates and driving to the local music store and buying Ten. My roomates were making fun of me, because it was impulsive and that ain't me. Immediately, I figured out that there was no need to grab the remote to skip songs on Ten, but y'all know that. I still haven't forgiven Rob for stealing ten when he moved out, but i've replaced it several times due to over use.
I’ve outgrown other habits of my younger days, and my beautiful wife has been quite patient….but I insist on raising my children as PJ fans! My daughter requests PJ when we get in the car, and my son can’t wait to get better at guitar so he can play indifference.
Comments
Soundgarden - 1996-10-15
Pearl Jam - 2000-06-30
Fugazi - 2000-10-10
The Mars Volta - 2003-03-24
My high school English teacher and her husband got me hooked. Before I was old enough to drive, she would pick me up and take me home. I first got to listen to Binaural in 2000 in her car. I remember hearing Nothing as it Seems. The part from 3:21 to about the 4 minute mark got me hooked, but I didn't buy an album until Riot Act. I did manage to snag the I am Mine cd single before Riot Act was released. Before I finally got Binaural, I used to think Nothing as it Seems was called Light Years. Last time Pearl Jam played in Alabama was April 9th 2003. My teacher went to the show, went home, took a nap, and came back to school to teach hours later.
Next time whether they play B-ham or Atlanta, we decided a couple of years ago that we would go together.
Pearl Jam was just what I needed at that point in my life. I felt like my own person again and not just someone's mom. Took my brother to see them in 2003, and it was the first live PJ show for both of us! Now, I am proud to say that both my daughter and son are PJ fans too. Have seen PJ with my daughter 3 times and will be taking my son for the first time to one of the Spectrum shows. I feel just as, if not more, excited to watch him have his first PJ experience as I feel to be going to the show myself! Hubby is not into concerts and he just smiles, shakes his head and enjoys watching me obsess!!!!!
I became a lifelong fan immediately- he is a powerful force
Hooked ever since.....
When I was about 11 or 12 I bought Ten, and Vs. was getting into the band. My parents were driving me to a basketball camp somewhere in the sticks of western Pennsylvania one summer. We had left from Pittsburgh and on the way out they dragged me into a Barnes and Noble. I couldn't have cared less about going in a bookstore at that time but amused myself in the music section. I was just looking through all the CD's, saw Vitalogy and decided to give it a try. I listened to that CD on my walkman for the entire week at basketball camp. I skipped a couple of practices because I was so into the album. I was hooked after that. I appreciated Ten and Vs. even more, and quickly snatched up any and all PJ I could find.
It's been the same ever since. Hearing music like the Band, the Four Tops, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, etc. (all the classics) growing up with my parents, I was conscious of good music from a young age, and I began following bands when I was about 8 or 9. But none of them ever stuck with me the way PJ has. When I was young I said Nirvana was my favorite band and always would be. Then a couple of months later it was Metallica, then Soundgarden, etc. Once I got hooked on PJ, however, it never changed. I have loved many other bands over the years, but PJ has been the constant. Even when I went through my 2 year Pink Floyd craze, writing a 50-page history thesis on the Floyd and concept albums, I still came back to PJ. There's just something there for me that no other band has had. Not to take away from the other great musicians over the years, but PJ has always had something extra for me.
It's interesting. The album that got me hooked, Vitalogy, might be the album I listen to the least these days. Not even because I don't find it interesting or amazing, but I always seem to forget it. Yield consumed a good 1-2 years for me when I discovered it. It's probably the album I listen to most. At the end of the day, they are band that rises above and beyond the rest. Whether it's a new release, a new found gem of a bootleg or a christmas (easter?) single, Pearl Jam always finds a way to get back to the front of my consciousness. After all these years they remain my favorite band, and I feel safe in predicting that they will continue to be for quite some time.
5/30/06 - Washington, DC
6/22/08 - Washington, DC
10/31/09 - Philadelphia, PA
8/5/16 - Fenway Park
Temple of the Dog - 11/5/2016 - Philadelphia, PA
7/1/2018 - Prague
7/3/2018 - Kraków
7/5/2018 - Berlin
Nice thread.. and Thank You Pearl Jam..
I had bought Binural a few moths after it came out from a tiny shop with a really small collection. I wouldn't leave unless i bought something ( i never leave a record shop unless i buy something) so i picked it up.
I heard it a few times, i liked it but didn't give much attention and then i went to that shop again and found Riot Act. I played them together a few times...and it suddenly came to me...i really liked this band!
It was about 2004/2005 for me, I know that's pretty recent, but give me a break I'm only 20, plus you never hear anything about pearl jam in the UK media. i Knew the name and I had heard alive a couple of times and kinda dug it and then my girlfriends dad lent me this video tape with some frank zappa and pink floyd stuff on... which was awesome! It also had pearl jam unplugged (possibly the coolest vhs ever...right). Anyway I remember them just ripping into state of love and trust and eddie was so intense and the band was just tearing it apart... i was absolutely hooked. As i was about 15/16 at the time I wasn't exactly loaded but i remember going down to music zone (any UK residents will miss this... the number of class cds i bought from there for like £4 or £5). I was stood there for ages wondering whether to buy ten or get rearviewmirror the greatest hits. Eventually i decided on ten and just loved it... once just blew me away with that amazing guitar work, and of course alive, even flow, jeremy, black as well as release. That next year i found out they were gonna headline the Leeds Festival... which I was hyped about being a Leeds resident. So i purchased a weekend camping ticket and realised I'd have to buy some more pj albums... so went and bought vs. it took me a few listens to get it, but after I'd heard rearviewmirror, it hit such a chord with me... I loved it in a way that I had not loved music before, so intense, just awesome, all those other greats as well, go, animal, daughter, dissident, blood and i tought indifference was just haunting and beautiful (I think vs. is still my favourite), picked up vitalogy as well and again got really into it after a little while, the avacado had just come out as well, so i picked that up. Anyways fastforward to an august night, and pearl jam hit the stage at leeds festival, and eddie gives a little speech about looking after eachother (first festival since roskilde) and they just slam into 'go' it was one of the most exhilerating nights of my life... i knew i was a fan for life, I wanted nothing more than to leave leeds festival and head down and see them again at Reading. I just loved the way eddie came across, the energy they put in, and being a guitarist I was just blown away by mike, stone and eddie's guitar work... and live as well! I was slightly gutted that they skipped out rearviewmirror though! Later that year me and the girlfriend finished with eachother, we broke up whilst listening to the down side of rearviewmirror, which she had bought me as a gift. It was such a great soundtrack for this mutual breakup we went through. After this I went through a load of personal stuff, I systematically purchased the rest of the pj albums (yield, no code, binaural, riot act... in that order) and they were just there for me the whole time, everytime i felt down or alone or whatever. I was never more disappointed when i missed out on the wembley show in 2007. I had an A level exam that same day and one the day after. I even tried to go to bonaroo in '08, despite being a broke student... so now here I am just two weeks away from seeing my favourite band twice at manchester and london... nd tryin to scrape together some more funds to get the avacado tatooed on the inside of my wrist...bring it on! and il see you down front! long live pearl jam... can't wait for backspacer!
Your story is similar to mine. Lost track after Vitalogy, loved Avocado and bought everything in between shortly after.
Hartford 10 Boston 10 Wrigley 13 Worcester I 13 Worcester II 13 Hartford 13
NYC I 16 NYC II 16 Fenway I 16 Fenway II 16 Fenway 1 18 Fenway II 18
E.V. Boston II 08 E.V. Albany II 09 E.V. Providence 11, E.V. Boston 11
Troubled Souls Unite
I’ve outgrown other habits of my younger days, and my beautiful wife has been quite patient….but I insist on raising my children as PJ fans! My daughter requests PJ when we get in the car, and my son can’t wait to get better at guitar so he can play indifference.
Keep the stories coming.